Local News in Brief : Simi Suspends Bingo Permits for 3 Charities

City permits for weekly bingo games operated by three charitable organizations in Simi Valley have been suspended because the groups violated a city regulation that requires them to have an office in their bingo halls, city officials said Thursday.

Police Chief Lindsey Miller suspended the permits of United Cerebral Palsy / Spastic Childrens Foundation, Temple Ner Tamid and Institute for Equestrian Therapy, which operate games in a rented meeting hall at 4241 Valley Fair Street, officials said.

The suspensions came Wednesday after an investigation of all 12 bingo operations in the city. City officials said organizations that operate bingo games are required to have an office on premises where games are played.

“There would at least have to be an appearance of an office operation,” said Brian Gabler, a city administrative assistant. “We conducted a month-long investigation and there was no indication that there was any activity there other than the bingo games.”

A spokesman for Institute for Equestrian Therapy, which provides horseback riding as therapy for the physically and mentally impaired, said the organization does have an office in the building on Valley Fair and will appeal the suspension to City Manager Lin Koester. Representatives of the other organizations could not be reached for comment.